My Brother, My Twin, My Best Friend
by Moony-Padfoot-Prongs-4ever
Summary: George is having a problem dealing with Fred's death and saying goodbye.


Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything that you recognize in this story.

The Burrow was bustling with activity, full of family members who had arrived to pay their respects and say a final goodbye to a beloved young lad. The sitting room was full of red haired Weasleys, with the odd handful of others who did not belong by blood to the family but were welcomed, nonetheless. The room exuded warmth, with a large fire blazing in the stone fireplace and the sound of loved ones catching up on the time that had passed since their last meeting.

Most would think this scene to be that of a happy occasion. The only give away that it was more sombre than it appeared was the sight of one particular Weasley. George stood in the corner next to the fireplace, nursing a fire whiskey, and looking as though nothing could console him as random people from the crowd approached him. "George, I really must give you my condolences. Fred was a great lad. Everyone loved him and his jokes. So sad…" the man trailed off. George finally lifted his gaze from the ground as he realized that it was expected for him to respond, "Uh, yeah…thank you…" By the time that he had finished getting this out, the man was already moving away from him towards another family member that he had seen across the room to share his thoughts on the loss of Fred.

This transaction occurred several more times and yet George still could not quite comprehend what had happened. His anger and pain consumed his thoughts so much that he began to feel trapped within the room. He didn't want to speak with anyone or drink his fire whiskey. He didn't want to go to his bedroom or even to his shop because they both held too many memories of his twin. He just wanted to disappear. Suddenly, he saw Harry past him and had an idea. "Hey mate," he said, grabbing Harry's arm, "do you think that you could help a fellow disappear?"

If Harry didn't understand the question, he didn't show it. He just looked at George, nodded, told him to wait by the kitchen door, and ran upstairs. He came back down a moment later with his invisibility cloak and handed it over with strict instructions to not lose it. George thanked Harry profusely, threw it over himself, and walked out the door. George did not have a destination in mind when he set off, being happy with just being out of the house, but his feet had another plan. He soon found himself standing at the broom shed, his favourite place to go when he wanted to be alone. He closed the door, removed the cloak, and surveyed the room. In the far corner, he saw Fred's very first broom, a Cleansweep 3. He sat down next to it and was overcome with grief, while being swept away with memories of his twin. George didn't hear it, but at that moment, the door handle of the shed clicked and the door swung open to reveal Arthur Weasley. He looked up and saw his father standing before him. Arthur looked at his son, sat down next to him, and took him in his arms.

"I know, I know," he whispered as George continued to sob.

"No dad, you don't. No one does. He was my best friend! He was my TWIN! No one else had that find of connection with me. He died and now I have no one!" George was now shouting but he didn't care. His anger boiled within him and he couldn't hold back any longer.

"Fred died fighting for everything that he had ever believed in," Arthur said calmly to George.

"Ay, he might have but it still doesn't change the fact that he is gone!"

"Yes, I know what you mean," said Arthur finally realizing that there was nothing that he could say to console his son and that George just needed to talk his grief out.

"The thing is Dad, no one gets what I mean. Everyone keeps saying that they know how I feel or what I mean but they don't. The fact of the matter is that before we left for the battle, Fred and I had a chat." George softened his tone, "We swore to protect each other and I didn't save him…" At this, he collapsed in sobs once more.

"Oh my dear boy," Arthur said gently, "You fought bravely as did Fred. It wasn't your fault that Fred died." His voice grew a bit more forceful, "No one is to blame for Fred's death other than the Death Eater who did it." George knew this to be true but even so, in his heart, he still felt responsible. Arthur pulled out a handkerchief and passed it to George, who had finally managed to catch his breath and begin to pull himself together once more. Arthur looked at him and asked "Better?"

George looked at his father and said "Yeah, I think that I'll be okay."

"Well, when you're ready, come back to the house and we will begin the ceremony, alright?"

"Alright, Dad," George murmured. Arthur turned and left. George thought to himself 'Alright, mate. Pull yourself together. You need to go and say your goodbyes. Oh no, what am I going to say?' Wiping his eyes one more time, he grabbed the cloak, threw it over himself, and walked back to the house thinking the whole way about his last moments with Fred.

As he walked in the kitchen door, he slipped the cloak from him quickly and passed it back to Harry who was awaiting his return. "Thanks mate. I really appreciated it."

"No problem. I know what it's like to want to disappear once in a while," Harry said with a smile.

At that moment, Arthur noticed his son's return and loudly announced to everyone present that a small ceremony was going to be held out in the yard in a moment. The crowd shuffled towards the door and soon enough, the house was empty. George made his way out into the yard with the rest of his immediate family. Earlier that day, he and his brothers had set up enough chairs for everyone and a small platform to stand on for anyone willing to get up and say something. Slowly, but surely, Molly Weasley made her way up onto the platform, her right hand held a letter while her left held a handkerchief. A silence fell across the crowd as she unfolded the letter and began to read it…

"My Dearest Fred,

Your father thought it to be a bad omen when I began to write these letters during the war. I still wanted to write a letter to each of you children though, and once I've made up my mind, well, we both know that I will accomplish what I set out to do. I've written this letter because if anything should happen to me, I want you to know how much I love you and how proud I am of you.

We may have had many disagreements over the years but we both know that everything that we have done has been out of love. I knew from the moment that I looked into your mischievous eyes, life was going to be an adventure. And you know what? I wouldn't trade any of our fights or disagreements or even a howler for anything. I hope that I told you I loved you enough. I hope that I hugged you enough and gave you enough kisses (I know it was embarrassing as you got older and I wanted to kiss you before you left for school, but you still let me give you one before you ran off with your friends). I hope that I did enough for you.

Everyone would always think that you and your brother were the same person with the same personality. Well, if someone told me that, then I'd have to laugh in their faces and say that they didn't really know my boys at all. I know that we'd always joke about how I couldn't tell you apart and that George's injury was the only way to tell you two apart but that's wrong. You have your own smile. You have your own sparkle in your eye. You have your own laugh. You have your own spirit and your own hug. You have the love of a wonderful woman. (Mrs Weasley looked up and smiled at Angelina Johnson, sitting out in the first row of chairs) You have always been the louder of you two and that's not such a bad thing. You are just very open to others while George is quieter but just as mischievous. You must remember that you are unique and no one will ever change that. Please know how much I love you. Whatever happens to me, I want you to grow up fighting for what you believe in so that you can raise your children in a world where there is peace and you can live without fear of darkness. Get married, have lots of children, and love everyone in your own special way.

I will love you forever,

Mom"

As she finished reading her letter, she burst into tears once more and went to sit back down. More and more people went up after to share their memories of Fred and say their goodbyes. Harry talked about the first time that he ever met Fred and how he had helped rescue him from Number 4, Privet Drive all those years ago. Hermione talked about how many times she had chastised him in his last year at Hogwarts and all the summers that they had spent together. Ron spoke of the Teddy Bear incident and how despite the fact that Fred would try to take the mickey out of Ron all the time, he really did love his brother. Arthur talked about raising Fred and the challenges that they went through. Bill and Charlie talked about Fred during his early years at Hogwarts and Percy spoke of how Fred had welcomed him back with open arms, only to be taken away from him. Ginny got up and quickly talked about how he had kept an eye on her when she started at Hogwarts and how he had always looked out for her. Finally, it was George's turn.

"Uh, I don't really know where to begin. We were with each other from day one. There isn't really a single memory of mine that Fred isn't in. As a brother, he was the best that you could have ever asked for. We shared everything including our plans for the future. As a twin, he was the only one who really got me. We were able to finish each other's sentences and we could always tell what was needed by the other. And as for a friend, he was fiercely loyal and trusting. He was always there for his friends and he would have rather died than betrayed a loved one. He was the trickster but he was never mean. Everything that he did was in good fun and he was always quick to apologize to someone that was hurt by his words or actions. Alright, so he never did apologize to Ron for the Teddy Bear thing, but we were young when we did that." Everyone shared a laugh at that, including Ron. "Another thing that everyone should know about my brother is that there were only two things that he was afraid of. First of all, he was afraid that a family member would be injured during the war. The other is more like a person that he was afraid of. No, Neville, it wasn't Snape. It was none other than Professor McGonagall." Everyone laughed again. "We were both so afraid of her during our first few years at Hogwarts but after awhile, she grew on us and I'm assuming that the feeling was mutual, as our detentions and letters sent home became fewer.

I feel that everyone should also know that Fred wasn't just about jokes either. Yes, it is true. He was madly in love with his girlfriend, whom he wanted to marry one day. He was also very serious about his family and his work. His passion and sincerity was something that not many saw in him but those that were close enough did manage to see those things. I know that he didn't want anyone to see how hard working he was because he worked so hard to make it look like his life was a breeze but he gained a lot through perseverance and his brains. Oh yes, that's right. Despite the fact that we both dropped out of Hogwarts and we didn't even do well on our OWLs, Fred was absolutely brilliant. He really could have aced his classes if he was the slightest bit interested in them. Sorry mum, but I figured that you should finally hear the truth about our schooling." Mrs Weasley gave a look that only a mother could give to her son but he continued on through the laughter that echoed throughout the crowd. "I guess that I just want to let the whole world know that Fred was my brother, my twin, but most importantly, my best friend and that there was more to him than meets the eye. Before we left to go do battle at Hogwarts, we had a chat and promised each other that we would protect one another. Earlier tonight, I believed that I had failed. After hearing everyone's accounts of what has happened and what everyone thought of him, I must say that I am feeling a little better about things. I have realized that he knew I would have been there for him but I was busy fighting my own little battle. I had forgotten what I was doing while he ran off but I remembered it about an hour ago after talking with my father. I did as he had told me to do and he did as I had told him to. He told me to stay where I was and to protect those kids that decided to try and fight instead of leave with the other children. I told him to go and make sure that Ron and the others were okay. We had never failed each other and even in that moment, we still listened. I guess that I should end off here by saying that it was rather quite fitting the way that he died. Not the manner of his death but the fact that he died with a smile on his face. It's the way he would have wanted to go. Fighting for something that he believed in, next to someone he loved, while making a joke." He looked up at the starry sky and said, "Goodbye Fred. I love you and no matter what, you will always be with me."

With that, he turned and stepped down off the platform and while walking to his chair, he felt at peace with himself for the first time since the war had ended.

A/N: I really hope that you guys liked this. Fred's death really hit me hard when I read the book and I felt like I needed to write up a goodbye for him. I love feedback, so if you have any, please let me hear it. 


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